Solutions June 2018 - Page 48

• I am a citizen of heaven. (Philippians
3:20)
• I have not been given the spirit of fear
but of power, love, and a sound mind. (2
Timothy 1:7)
• I am born of God, and the Evil One
cannot touch me. (1 John 5:18)
I Am Significant
• I am a branch of Jesus Christ, the true
vine, and a channel of his life. (John
15:5)
• I have been chosen and appointed to
bear fruit. (John 15:16)
• I am God’s temple. (1 Corinthians 3:16)
• I am a minister of reconciliation for
God. (2 Corinthians 5:17–21)
• I am seated with Jesus Christ in the
heavenly realm. (Ephesians 2:6)
• I am God’s workmanship. (Ephesians
2:10)
• I may approach God with freedom and
confidence. (Ephesians 3:12)
What would happen to your spiritual
confidence, joy, peace, and contentment
if you began to live out of the staggering
truths contained in this list instead of
seeking to achieve satisfaction by what
you can accomplish in comparison with
others? What if you stopped measuring
yourself by what you see on social
media and in the lives of your friends
and let these truths shape your path?
What would happen if you lived for the
upward call and made that call, instead
of horizontal comparison, the measure
of your success? It would be hard at first.
We so often feel that we are falling behind
others. But a fast from comparison and
a feast on biblical identity could move
your life into a place of freedom and
48 • Solutions
delight. You would be more present to
those you love and begin to notice things
happening around you. You would be
able to celebrate the success of others
and delight in their favor rather than
feeling like you were being overlooked
or diminished in some way. Your envy
would melt into love as you realize you
are on the same team and seeking the
same goal, and you wouldn’t perceive
others as a threat. You may even find
you are being liberated from the tyranny
of comparison in your life.
Finding Your Call
The second step toward breaking the
spirit of comparison is to respond to
God’s call on your life rather than living
for the expectations of others. Living for
others creates what Ronald Rolheiser
calls a “cancerous restlessness.” He
writes, “So much of our unhappiness
comes from comparing our lives, our
friendships, our loves, our commitments,
our duties, our bodies and our sexuality
to some idealized and non-Christian
vision of things which falsely assures
us that there is a heaven on earth. When
that happens, and it does, our tensions
begin to drive us mad, in this case to a
cancerous restlessness.”
We see this restlessness in Peter until
he moves from fisherman to shepherd.
And we see this same restlessness in
our own lives. As a pastor I have seen
people go to college and earn degrees in
fields of study they care nothing about,
all to keep their parents happy. I have
seen others run from the call of God
and become successful in business but